Kremlin threatens ‘pre-emptive action’ against NATO countries

The head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service has accused NATO of increasing its military activity on the borders of Belarus and Russia and says the countries are preparing pre-emptive measures.

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergei Naryshkin has threatened NATO with pre-emptive action. Picture: Getty Images.

The Belarusian and Russian security services are preparing “pre-emptive” measures against NATO member states, the Kremlin’s spy chief has said.

Sergei Naryshkin, head of the Russian SVR foreign intelligence service, accused NATO of increasing its military activity on the countries’ borders.

Belarus is Russia’s strongest ally in Europe and the Kremlin has launched attacks from its territory. Moscow also says it has transferred tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.

“European countries, especially France, Britain and Germany, are increasing the escalation around the Ukrainian conflict,” Naryshkin said during talks in Minsk with Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian dictator. “We need to act pre-emptively.”

Naryshkin, who is believed to be a former KGB officer, gave no evidence of a NATO escalation. Western security officials suspect that agents from both countries have orchestrated arson and sabotage attacks in Europe since President Putin ordered tanks into Ukraine in 2022.

They say that warehouses, cargo aircraft, shops and underwater cables have been targeted. Russia is also reported to have carried out cyberhacking raids and electronic jamming. A recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted that despite the increase in such incidents, “western countries have not developed an effective strategy to counter these attacks”. The think tank added that sabotage was an attractive tactic for Moscow because it avoided a “costly conventional war”.

There have been no suspected Russian sabotage attacks in Hungary or Serbia, close allies to the Kremlin.

Last year, a 20-year-old British man admitted an arson attack on a Ukrainian-owned business in east London. A Romanian man was arrested this month after a suspected Russian incendiary device caused a fire at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham.

Naryshkin gave his warning came as Russian state media reported that the Kremlin’s forces had for the first time carried out a drone attack in eastern Ukraine that was piloted by an operator in Moscow. The pilot was based in Moscow City, a business district. A video was removed after complaints from pro-war bloggers that Ria Novosti was aiding Ukraine.

The Times